Folding bottle carrying carton



April 22, 1941. v J. l. LYoNs, JR

FOLDING BOTTLE CARRYING CARTON 3 Shuts-Sheet 1 Filed Feb.- 21; 1940INVENTOR. Josekh L. L on, BY

Y AHw-rwg April 22, 1941. J LYQNQ. JR 2,239,564

FOLDING BOTTLE CARRYING CARTON Filgd Feb. 21, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Q aINVENTOR. Joseph L. Lyons,Jr.

Afi'a "W96.

April 22, 1941. J. L. LYONS, JR

FOLDING BOTTLE CA RRYING CARTON Filed Feb. 21, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 3INVENTOR. yon/S, Jr. mL AHo l 58.

- Patented Apr. 22, 1941 FOLDING BOTTLE CARRYING CARTON Joseph L. Lyons,In, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Lyne 00., Chicago, 111., a corporation ofIllinois Application February 21,1940, Serial No. 320,070

This invention relates to improvements in folding bottle carryingcartons and it consists in the novel form of construction hereinafterdescribed.

Prior to the present invention there have been numerous attempts toprovide an efilcient folding bottle carrying carton which can be foldedup so as to lie in a flat state and which is adapted to be opened up anderected into a bottle carrying condition so that it can be used eitherfor carrying bottled goods from place to place or for packaging aplurality of bottles so that they will be protected against breakageduring shipment from the manufacturer to the retail dealer.

Most all of these prior bottle carrying cartons are based upon a foldingconstruction formed from a single blank of cardboard material which isadapted to be adjusted into its erected bottle carrying condition onlyafter the bottles to be contained therein have been placed into positionwith respect to the carton blank and while said carton blank is in anextended, opened out, flat condition.

In these prior-types of folding bottle cartons, in order to hold thesame in an erected bottle carrying condition, it has been the practiceto provide tabs or tongues or other forms of holding means, which arepartially cut out from the cardboard blank at the handle portionsthereof and which are adapted to interlock with each other to hold theabutting handle portions of the carton blank together. Examples of thistype of prior bottle carrying carton constructions are disclosed in theLetters Patent to Buschmann No. 1,967,284, issued July 24, 1934; KeithNo. 2,069,742, issued February 9, 1937; and Everhart No. 1,965,686 andNo. 1,995,280, issued July 10, 1934, and March 19,1935, respectively.

Folding bottle carrying cartons of this type, with their interlockingtabs or tongues or other forms of retaining members at the top carryingportion of the carton have become known in the trade as one trip cartonsbecause they are capable of being used practically only once intransporting bottled goods due to the fact that the cardboard tabs ortongues employed-to hold the carton in its erected bottle carryingcondition are usually damaged or twisted out of shape either at the timethe carton is assembled in its erected condition or during the carryingor shipping of the bottle-filled carton and therefore become useless incarrying out their interlocking or holding functions,

Also the operation of assembling the bottles in carrier cartons'of thistype is a time-consuming and. clumsy p cedure because usually the cartonis formed with small openings in the upper portions thereof throughwhich the necks of the bottles must be inserted before the carton can befolded up into an erected condition.

In addition to the above disadvantages present in these prior cartonconstructions, it is usually necessary to make the cartons of such asize that when the carton is in its erected condition the ends of thesame will extend considerably beyond the end bottles carried therein sothat said end bottles will be protected against jars and will not belikely to fall out when the carton is being carried or shipped. Becauseof this fact, these bottle-fllled cartons take up considerable spacewhen a number of the same are being shipped together, or are beingstored, and there is nothing provided in the construction to prevent theend bottles from becoming displaced and falling out of the ends of thecarton.

It is the main object of the present invention to overcome theabove-mentioned defects existing in the prior folding bottle carryingcarton constructions and at the same time to provide an improved form ofconstruction which contains certain new features therein which will makethe carton more durable and efllcient in use and capable of beingemployed a number of times for bottle carrying or shipping purposesbefore its, usefulness for such purposes becomes exhausted.

A further object of the invention is to provide a folding bottle carriercarton which is so constructed that it is capable of carrying aplurality of bottles therein in a minimum amount of space.

A further object of the invention is to provide a. pre-formed bottlecarrier carton adapted to be collapsed into a flat state and which canbe quickly assembled into bottle carrying position and which is soformed that the bottles to be carried thereby may be quickly and easilypositioned therein.

A further object is to provide a pre-formed foldable bottle carryingcarton which is provided with novel end flaps which are adapted to prevent the end bottles carried therein from falling out of the ends of thesame.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pre-formedcollapsible-bottle carrying carton which is provided with novel meanswhich insures the positioning of the bottle retaining end flaps intooperative position when the carton is changed from its folded flat stateto its erected bottle carrying condition.

A further object of the invention is to provide a collapsible bot le c ycarton which is the- A further object of the invention is to pro-.

vide a collapsible bottle carrying carton which is provided with meanspartially cut from the card- 7 board blank from which the carton ismade, and which are adapted to extend between the rows of the bottlescarried in the carton and protect the bottles in each row from jarringagainst each other.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for reinforcingthe end edges of the carton.

A further object of the invention is to provide a bottle carriercartonwhich is not only simple in construction but which is extremelyinexpensive to manufacture and durable and eflicient in Additionaladvantages of the invention will be a readily apparent from theaccompanying dc scription, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of thecarton with the bottles in place therein Figure 2 is an end view of thecarton with the bottles in place;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the carton in its pro-formed folded flatstate;

Figure 4 is an edge view of the carton in its folded pre-formed flatstate;

Figure 5 is an end elevational view showing .the carton in a partiallyopened condition;

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 4looking in the direction of the arrows Figure 7 is a view taken on theline 1-1 of Figure 5 looking in the directions of the arrows;

Figures 8 and 9 are detail views showing portions of the end flapconstruction of the bottle receiving sections of the carton; and

Figure 10 is a plan view of the blank of cardboard or like material cutand scored so as to provide the carton construction of my invention.

In Figure 10 the blank of-material from which the folding bottlecarrying carton of my invention is formed is generally indicated. Thematerial used for the carton may be cardboard .or paper board or anyother suitable-like material. The blank of material is cut of such widththat its side edges will be on a line with the outer edges of thebottles to be carried in the carton and said blank is scored atpredetermined points so as to provide fold lines: for the severalsections of the carton. The score lines are made so as to providesections 2, 2 in the blank. These sections comprise the bottom portionof the carton when it is in its 2, 2 is provided with a fold line 3 atits central portion so that it maybe folded together along said line.The-blank of material is also provided with the sections 4 and 5 whichform the side walls of the carton when it is in its erected condition.Sections 4 and 5 are hingedly connected to the bottom section 2 alongthe fold lines 8 and I. The fold lines 3, 8 and I may be produced in anysuitable alternate .cuts and webs or interconnecting portions producedin the blank of material. The side wall sections 4 and 5 have the bottlereceiving sections 8 and 9 hingedly connected thereto along the foldlines I and II. Each of the bottle receiving sections 8 and 3 is formedwith three bottle receiving openings l2, l3, l4 and I 5, l

manner, such as by.

- tion of said opening the sections l3 and I 3 which are adapted to formthe handle portions of the carton when it is in its erected condition.provided with finger grip openings 23 and 2|, the finger grip opening 2|being provided with a hinged flap 22 formed as a partially cutout porandwhich is hinged to the handle section along the fold line 23. Eachhandle portion is formed with the flaps 24, 25, 26 and 21.. 28 and 29-at the lower portions thereof and said flaps are formed from portionspartially out out of the material which is taken away from the bottlereceiving sections to form the bottle receiving openings l2 to H. r

The end edges of the sections 4 and 5 and sections 2, 2, have the flapextensions 30, 3|, 32 and 33 and 30', 3|, 32' and 33', whichare'foldable along the score lines 34, 35, 38 and 3'! and 34', 35', 36and 31'. The bottle receiving sections 8 and 9 are provided with flapextensions 33, 33 and 38' and 39', which are hingedly connected to thebottle receiving sections along the fold lines 40, 4i and 40' and 4|.The flap extensions 38, 39, 38' and 39'are continuations of the flapextensions 30, 30' and 33 and 33' and are foldable with respect theretoby means of the bellows folds 42, 43, 42 and 43'.

The flap extensions 38 and 38 with the curved edges 52 and 53 areprovided and the flap erected condition. Thebot'tom edges 54 and 55. Theflap extensions 30 to 33 and 30' to 33' are adapted to be folded back onthe bottom sections 2, 2 and the side wall sections 4 and 5 along thescore lines 35 to 31 and 35 to 31' and to be permanently secured tothose sections in any suitable manner'as more clearly shown in Figure 3.When the bottle receiving carton is erected in bottle carrying conditionthe bellows folds 42 and 43 and 42' and 43' permit the flaps 38 and 39and 38' and 39' to be extended downwardly and substantially at rightangles to the bottle receiving sections 8 and 9, and so as to provide aretaining means at the ends of the carton to prevent the bottlescontained in the carton from falling out of the ends thereof.

The central bottle receiving openings l3 and iii of the bottle receivingsections 8 and 3 are provided with the flaps 44, 45, 48 and 41 which areformed from portions out out of the material in the blank which iseliminated from the bottle receiving sections 8 and 9 to form thecentral bottle receiving openings I 3 and I6 therein. These flaps 45 to"are adapted to be folded inwardly and downwardly at right angles to theplane of the central bottle receiving openings along the fold lines 48to 5i and to form spacing or cushioning means to space and cushion thecenter bottles in each row of bottles in the carton when said carton isin its erected bottle carrying condition.

When the blank of material has been cut and scored in the manner aboveindicated it is folded along the line 3 and the handle sections I 8 andi9 are brought together so that they abut and lie fiat against eachother, as shown in Figure 4, and then they are permanently securedtogether by brads or other fastening means, as indicated in this foldedstate the flaps 38, 39, 38' and 39' will lie flat against the insideface of the bottle receiving sections, as indicated in Figures 3 and 9,and with the flaps 33 and II. The blank also arranged to provide Eachhandle portion is formed folded 'fiat carton construction which may bestored or shipped in a flat state and which may be quickly opened outand erected to form a carrier carton which is adapted to support thereina plurality of bottles.

When it is desired to change the carton construction from its fiatfolded condition, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, to a bottle carryingcondition, the side walls I and are gripped by the fingers through theopenings i! to I1 and are caused to be separated from each other, asshown in Figure 5, and the hinged bottom sections 2, 2 are caused to bebrought into aligned relation with each other, as indicated in Figure 2,and so that they will be at right angles to the side walls 4 and 5. Thisoperation will also cause the bottle receiving portions 8 and 8 toextend in a plane approximately at right angles to the side walls 4 and5 and in a parallel plane with respect to the bottornportions 2, 2. Thespreading of the folded carton construction will also cause the fiaps38, 39, 38 and 39' to extend downwardly at an angle to the plane of thebottle receiving portions 8 and 9, and the lower, extensions 24 to 29 ofthe handle sections to extend downwardly between the side walls. Thecurved edges of the lower extensions 2, 26, 21 and 29 of the handlesections which,

' thickness provided by the bent-over when the carton construction isbeing opened up and erected into its bottle carrying condition, willtend to abut against the flaps 38, 39, and assist in forcing said flapsoutwardly and in positioning them with respect to the ends of the cartonand so that they will extend definitely and when the carton is erectedinto its bottle carrying position. i

When the bottle carton is in its final erected condition the bottles 60may then be inserted therein through the openings i2, i3, i4, I5, i6 andI1, provided in the bottle receiving sections 8 and 9. These openingsare of such size that they will readily accommodate the body portions ofthe bottles to be carried. When the central bottles of each row ofbottles to be carried in the carton are inserted through the openings i3and I8 they cause the flaps H, 45, and 41 to be pushed downwardly and tobe positioned on either side of said central bottles to provide acushioning means between said center bottles and the bottles on eitherside thereof. These flaps also insure a snug fit of the bottles in thecarton so that they will not be apt to loosely jar against each other.

The bottles are also caused to be maintained snugly in the cartonalongside of each other by reason of the manner in which the bottlereceiving openings are positioned and shaped. It will be noted in Figure3 that the bottle re-' ceiving openings are so positioned and formedthat the body portions of the bottles will be held slightly away fromthe side walls-4 and 5 when the carton is in its bottle carryingcondition due to the curved edges of the openings terminating at a pointslightly away from the side walls. Also the curved edges of saidopenings will tend to grip the sides of the bottles in the carton whenthe bottle-tilled carton is being carried and thus further maintain t ebott es secure y with- 3 in the carton. The end bottles men's row willbe prevented from endwise movement with respect to the carton by meansof the downwardly extending flaps 30,49, 38, andll and the end edges ofthe bottom and side walls will be reinforced and strengthened by theadditional 32,13,302 ll, 32 and 33'. v

A bottle carrier carton constructed and arranged as above describedpossesses a number of advantages which are not present in prior foldablebottle carrier constructions. In the first place, the'length of thecarton is the same as the actual space occupied by a. row of bottlescarried therein. 'I'hisfeaturc of the construction makes it possible toprovide a carton of a compact minimum size which will save spaceon theshelves of a retail dealer and will also save space when bottle-filledcartons are shipped from place to place. Furthermore, it saves materialin making up the carton and thus reduces the cost of manufacture.Secondly (though not indicated in the drawings), it is evident, that dueto the folding character of the various sections of the cartonconstruction along predetermined fold lines and thus the adaptability ofthe several sections to be positioned in diflerent planes from thosewhich they normally would assume when the carton is in its erectedcondition, the handle portions may be caused to be positioned so thatthe top edges will extend below the tops of the bottles when the cartonis not being carried and bottles of average length are in the carton.

This feature will permit a number of bottlefilled cartons to be readilystacked one upon the other andthe tops of the bottles will serve as asupport for abottle-filled carton positioned just above it. Furthermore,the end flaps ll, 39, SI and 39' are of a novel construction and notonly serve the useful purpose of insuring that the end bottles will notbe forced out of the ends of the carton when it is being carried orshipped but they also are arranged and shaped so that they willautomatically be projected into their bottle retaining positions whenthe carton is opened up and formed into its bottle carrying conditionand will be caused to be collapsed against the inner faces of the cartonblank when the carton is in its fiat folded shape. Also the flaps 44 to41, associated with the central bottle receiving openings, insure thatthe bottles in the carton will be protected against jars in an endwisedirection of the carton and will also cause all of the bottles in eachrow to have a snug fit when maintained in the carton. The flaps at thelower extremities of the handle sections also provide a separating andcushioning means between the rows of bottles, and the curved bottlereceiving openings not only separate the sides of the bottles from eachother and from the side walls but also serve as gripping means to effecta gripping action on the sides of the bottles when the carton is beingcarried and thus tend to keep the bottles in place and to keep the sidesof the bottles from contacting with each other.

Finally, the reinforcing of the end: edges of the carton and thedefinite permanent securing s gle blank of material and ad pted tocarry,

two parallel rows of bottles, and comprising, in its erected orbottle-carrying condition, a bottom wall, side walls, a handle section,and abottlereceiv'ing section at each side of said handle section' andadjacent the lower end oi the latter, eachof said bottle-receivingsections being joined at its outer edge to the upper edge of one of saidside walls and being joined at its inner edge to the lower end portionof said handle section, each of said bottle-receiving sections having arow oi spaced bottle-receiving openings formed therein and each of saidrows of bottle-receiving openings including a central bottlerreceivingopening and an additional bottle-receiving opening at each side of saidcentral bottle-receiving opening, eachof said side walls having an in--turned marginal edge portion formed thereon at each end thereof and saidmarginal edge portions being adhesively secured to said side walls onthe inner sides of said side walls, each of said bottle-receivingsections having a bottle-retaining flap formed thereon at each endthereof and there being one of said bottle-retaining flaps at the outerend of each one of said additional bottle-receiving openings, abellows-fold connection between the said inturned marginal edge portionof each of said side walls and the adja cent one of saidbottle-retaining flaps, said bottle-retaining flaps being collapsedagainst,

and into substantially parallel relationship with, 30

said bottle-receiving sections, and on the inner side of saidbottle-receiving sections, when said bottle carrier is in a collapsed orfolded condition and said bottle-retaining flaps being automaticallymoved into eifective and downwardly extending and bottle-retainingposition as and when said bottle carrier is erected into bottlecarryingposition, said handle section having extensions formed thereon at thelower end thereof when said bottle carrier is erected into bottle--carrying condition.

2. The bottle carrier defined in claim 1 in which each of saidextensions has a curved outer edge portion and in which each of saidbottleretaining flaps has a curved end portion at the end thereofopposite the end portion of said bottle-retaining flap to which saidbellows-fold is connected, and in which the said curved outer edgeportion of each of said extensions is adapted to bear against the innersurface of the adjacent one of said bottle-retaining flaps and to urgethe latter into downwardly extending and effective or bottle-retainingposition, as and when said bottle carrier is erected, and in which thesaid'curved outer edge portion of each 7 of said extensions rides oilfrom the said curved end portion of the adjacent one of saidbottle-retaining flaps as and when said extensions are moved intodownwardly extending and eil'ective or bottle-spacing and cushioningposition. I

JOSEPH L. LYONS, Jn.

Disclaimer 2,239,564.-Je:=cph L. Lyons, Jen, Chicago, Ill. FOLDINGBe'r'rLE CARRYING CARTON. Patent dated Apr. 22, 1941. Disclaimer filedOct. 12, 1951, by the assignee, E mpz're Bow Corporation.

Hereby enters this disclaimer to claims 1 and 2 of said patent.

[Ojfiez'al Gazette N o-vem-bev" 1-9, 19-51.]

